Very enjoyable futuristic chase movie

Rating: 7/10 (21 December 2005)

Pros: Beautiful and interesting sets: they look futuristic and are truly beautiful and interesting in themselves, but are also very convincing - they look very much like "not so distant future". Also, I liked a great deal the many car prototypes that show up in the movie (although some shots included cars we see today on the roads and it does not make sense they would still be around quite a few decades from now). As for the Matrix references, I did not see it as shameless copying, but a nod to the granddaddy of all utopias-that-are-actually-cover-ups-for-something-horrifying. Gorgeus music score: nothing extraordinary, but it did ad to some intense scenes. Beautiful lead actress: Scarlett Johansson was beautiful before, but here she looks ravishing - and plays a child-like innocence very well at times. The movie also includes some pretty good special effects, editing and camera work. As for acting, it's not great, but overall the movie manages to get you involved - some of the action scenes are very intense, and a couple of gruesome scenes really get to you. Cons: the usual that come with an action-packed, blockbuster-wannabe Hollywood movie: some plot holes here and there, lead characters that go through bone-crushing events and come out with just a scrape, as well as the usual logical holes of movies on cloning. Bottom line: definitely an enjoyable action movies with a futuristic theme, and a few things that make it stand out of the action-movie pack and whose theme and images might stick around in your memory for a while.